Suppose you have gotten into an accident. In this case, you might be wondering about your next steps to hold the responsible party accountable for their negligence and to get a fair settlement for your pain and suffering. Read on to learn more about why seeking medical care should be your top priority for the success of your personal injury case.
Why to Prioritize the Treatment of Your Injuries
If you have gotten in an accident or you got injured due to someone’s negligence, two things are absolutely crucial. The first thing you must do is to visit a doctor and seek treatment for your injuries. The next thing you must do is to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer, such as the Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyers if you reside in Syracuse and want to get your medical bills and treatments covered by the at-fault person’s insurance company.
Now, while the lawyer will ensure that your past and future medical bills will get covered, they will also make sure that you receive compensation for lost earnings, pain, and suffering. However, the lawyer will tell you to seek treatment for your injuries first. Why, you might ask? The thing is that the extent of your personal injuries will determine the settlement value of your personal injury case.
The Established Rule
According to the general rule, more serious injuries, including head injuries and other life-altering injuries, can lead to higher medical bills. Apart from that, these injuries also lead to a significant loss of work time. Personal injury cases do not rule out pain and suffering, which is why the victims receive compensation for their pain and suffering.
Besides, if the injuries have left you with a permanent scar, disfigurement, or disability, you will be eligible for an even higher personal injury settlement. So, making sure that you are working with a team of healthcare professionals and your lawyer is crucial so you can get the highest amount for your personal injury settlement.
Understand the Importance of Getting the Right Treating Doctor
When it comes to personal injury, you should know how important the treating doctor is if you have been involved in an accident and got injured as a result. The selection of the treating doctor is important – not only for your medical care but also for your personal injury case. First and foremost, the treating doctor is obviously critical for the medical recovery that you are going to get in your personal injury case.
On that note, it is crucial for you to have confidence in your doctor, listen to their advice, and follow their treatment plan. The right doctor will offer you the best treatment possible so that you can get better and get back to the life that you had before your accident.
The Legal Importance of A Treating Doctor
From a legal standpoint, the selection of a treating doctor is also important. The treating doctor will be critical to your success in your personal injury case. Why, you might ask? Well, the thing is that the treating doctor will evaluate your personal injuries and help you charge the at-fault person’s insurance company accordingly.
Personal injuries result in loads of medical bills, and with the help of a treating doctor and a personal injury lawyer, you won’t have to carry the burden on your own.
Your Medical Records Are Mandatory for Your Case’s Success
During personal injury settlements of lawsuits, your medical records will be assessed as a way to assess the value of your case. So, the medical records that are generated by the treating doctor play a crucial role in helping you get the much-needed compensation. Selecting the right doctor who is going to do an excellent job of charting your medical complaints as well as charting what they have done to help you feel better is critically important for the success of your personal injury case.
What Will the Personal Injury Lawyer Ask Your Treating Doctor For
In terms of the legal aspect of a personal injury case, a treating doctor is important because the lawyer relies on the doctor to write the final reports. In those final reports, the lawyer usually asks the doctor to comment on the causation of the injuries. For instance, if you have been in an accident and you sustained serious injuries, then your lawyer will stay in touch with your treating doctor and ask the doctor to detail in their report that such injuries were caused by the accident.
Your lawyer will also ask the doctor to comment on the permanency, which refers to your permanent injury.
Your Past and Future Medical Treatments Will Be Included in the Reports
Another legal aspect of selecting a treating doctor is that your lawyer will ask the doctor to detail the future of your medical condition and how it will affect your life and quality of life in general. The past, present, and future medical bills and treatments will be addressed, too.
The lawyer will also need the treating doctor to tell whether you will need surgery in the future or whether you need occasional treatment or medication. The treating doctor will also write in great detail in their report about the potential costs of your treatments in the future. All of these different aspects of your medical treatment are mandatory if you want to succeed in your personal injury case and if you want to reach the highest settlement possible.
The Importance of Rehabilitation Doctor
From a legal perspective, your personal injury case can involve a wide range of professional disciplines, including medical, chiropractic, physical therapy, psychology, and speech therapy. These different healthcare specialties not only treat the injured person to help them get back to their prior level of function but also offer a great amount of useful information that you can use for future prognosis.
Each of the aforementioned disciplines can offer great insight regarding how you are progressing in terms of the respective scope of practice.
The Opinion of the Medical Doctor in Terms of Your Personal Injury Case
The medical doctor can tell when exactly you have achieved maximum medical improvement. However, the medical doctor who will be your treating doctor in a personal injury case will often have to consult with your rehabilitation doctor to gauge your rehabilitative potential so they can effectively make this determination.
Medical doctors treat injuries and illnesses, whereas rehabilitation doctors evaluate and treat dysfunction. This aspect perfectly illustrates the need for a collaborative approach between various healthcare professionals in determining your overall prognosis.
